Immigration Act of 1907

Immigration Act of 1907The Law: Federal legislation regulating immigration

Date: Signed February 20, 1907

Significance: Created the Dillingham Commission to collect data used in future immigration laws. further narrowed Asian immigration, limited Muslim immigration and expanded the definition of undesirable women immigrants.

Roosevelt and Immigration in 1905

Roosevelt calls upon U.S Congress to increase protection from unwanted immigration, and systemise earlier legislation

Roosevelt and Congress hope to exclude immigrants who would not make good citizens

February 1907, Congress passes new act prohibits Asians entering the USA via Hawaii, doubled immigration tax to $4 per person, broadened excludable classes to include contract labour, immoral groups.

Section 39Section 39 of new law created the U.S Immigration Commission (Dillingham Commission)Role: to investigate immigration problems and their impact upon the nationProvided detail reports to Congress explaining the need to refine immigration; i.e need to put economic interest of U.S citizens above cheap labour.

Section 39Commission also favoured further limiting immigration via the implementation of an alien literacy test, Chinese exclusion policies and restricting Japanese and Korean immigration. Limiting unskilled aliens and implementing a quota system was also preferred.

Immigration Act 1907Act was notable for several innovations

Section 12 required ships with alien passengers departing the U.S to provide complete lists of their passengers by name, age, sex, nationality, occupation, place of residence in U.SInformation gathered through this law provided the first statistical information on alien departuresThe Act also worked to combat the practice of polygamy and denied entry of polygamists to the nation.

Immigration Act 1907Women also a target of the new law; broadened definition of prostitutes to include those arriving in the USA for any immoral purposesCould deport women arriving for ‘arranged’ marriagesThose who had worked as prostitutes previously also permitted to be deported: this was the first statutory provision authorising deportation based upon criminal conduct with the USA